Proposal would ban some dogs from base housing - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Proposal would ban some dogs from base housing

A new Corpswide proposal calls for banning specific dogs and mixes of those breeds from all Marine bases as soon as September.

The draft order, which would be included in the Marine Corps Housing Management Manual, prohibits pit bulls, Rottweilers, canid/wolf hybrids and mixes of those dogs from being on “any Marine Corps installation, at any time.” The only exception would be trips directly to and from a base veterinary office, “with no other stops aboard the installation authorized.”

Base residents who do not comply with the policy may be evicted, according to the proposal.

The draft order appears on a Web site operated by Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. It marks the latest in an ongoing, passionate debate about potentially dangerous dogs living in base housing areas.

“The rise in ownership of large dog breeds with a predisposition toward aggressive or dangerous behavior, coupled with the increased risk of tragic incidents involving these dogs, necessitates a uniform policy to provide for the health, safety and tranquility of all residents of family housing areas,” the draft order states.

Marine Corps officials declined to elaborate.

“We’re still reviewing the draft order, and until we finalize that, I can’t give you any details on what the final order will look like,” said 1st Lt. Brian Block, a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters.

The draft order includes a waiver process for Marines who already own one of the prohibited breeds. It would require them to pay for the cost of having their dogs undergo a “nationally recognized” temperament test every two years. Any waivers that Marines may have when — and if — this order is approved will stay valid until Dec. 31, 2011, the end of the grace period, or upon a permanent change of station move.

Waivers will be terminated, the proposal says, if a dog attacks and injures a person or animal. Moreover, it would require base commanders to establish policies that would, upon a complaint, determine whether the dog is dangerous, “and direct expeditious disposition of such animals.”

Historically, Marine installations have dealt with dog issues individually, in some cases issuing tougher restrictions only after tragedy strikes. Camp Lejeune, N.C., for example, implemented a new policy in April, nearly a year after the most recent fatal dog attack aboard a Marine base.

In that incident, a pit bull owned by a man visiting a family in base housing attacked and killed a 3-year-old boy. His death was ruled an accident.

On April 16, Lejeune’s commander, Col. Richard Flatau, implemented the new policy prohibiting from base housing full or mixed breeds of pit bull, Rottweiler, wolf hybrids and “any dog of any breed with traits of aggression as determined by the base veterinarian.”

Owners of those breeds were allowed to keep their dogs provided they installed a chain-link pen 10 feet wide and 6 feet high.

Since that order was implemented, the provost marshal’s office at Lejeune has processed three reported dog bites, two of which took place in base housing, according to base officials. The breeds involved were pit bull/terrier mixes.

At Camp Pendleton, Calif., some housing areas ban pets outright — but none ban certain types of dogs. Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., prohibit pit bulls and mixes of that breed, but not everyone is abiding by the rules.

A newsletter circulated this summer to residents of the Lincoln Housing community at Twentynine Palms says the no-pit-bull order there “has been ignored.”

“If you are not in compliance with this order, you are hereby requested to remove the pit bull from your home,” the letter states.

When contacted, the Lincoln Housing office referred questions about its policy to the combat center’s public affairs shop, which did not return messages as of press time.